


A Frozen Heart Worth Mining

by feistypantsxo



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-02-25 03:37:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2607041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feistypantsxo/pseuds/feistypantsxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the end of Frozen from Kristoff's point of view. I've often thought about what must have been going through his head on that lonely walk away from the castle and then in the desperate sprint across the fjord.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Leaving

The poor girl was shaking uncontrollably in Kristoff's arms and he could feel her icy breath against his neck and chin. Gulping, the ice harvester dared to look down, terrified at what he might see.  
She still looked like Anna. Her eyes were still that beautiful shade of blue, her lips still a rosy pink, and though she was growing weaker, they still held that constantly upturned smile. She shivered harshly, very suddenly.  _I have to keep her warm, she has to stay warm._  So Kristoff did the only thing he could think of in that moment and put his hat on her head, shielding her hair.  _Oh she looks so sweet in that hat. No, stop, don't think._

"Just hang in there okay?" he told her, before urging Sven onwards. Sven was reaching his limit already. But the palace was in sight "Come on, buddy, faster!"

Kristoff felt the reindeer speed up ever so slightly. Olaf struggled to keep control as he slid along beside them. He hit a rock beneath the snow and veered off course.

"Meet you guys at the castle!" he called, disappearing in to a housed area on the outskirts of Arendelle.

"Stay out of sight, Olaf!" Kristoff called, presuming Elsa had never made any talking snowmen roam the town before, not to his recollection anyway.

Even now, Anna was still getting colder. He didn't think it was possible. The blond dared look down again and she was still Anna, except… was she a little paler?  
 _Oh no, we're not going to make it. This is it. Don't you dare, Anna! Don't you leave us! Don't leave me! STOP IT KRISTOFF!_

Sven's hooves finally left the snow and hit cobbles. They were on the bridge leading to the gates of the palace. As always, they were closed. Now Kristoff had to think. How was he supposed to get her inside?

"It's Princess Anna!" a guard called, somewhere out of his vision.  _Someone had seen us coming. Thank god!_  
Sven skidded to a halt at the gates and Kristoff dismounted, taking Anna with him in his arms. She looked up at him with concern in her eyes before forcing out the words "Are you g-gonna be okay?"  
 _Here she was, the Princess of Arendelle on her deathbed, worrying about other people._

"Don't worry about me" he said, trying to reassure her.  
It was time to say goodbye as Kristoff walked toward the gate. He couldn't do it, he couldn't say the words. Of course there would be no way to see her again. Hans would heal her with his kiss and they would be wed. There was not a chance in hell that a married princess would be allowed to skip off into the forest with a lowly ice harvester. Nobody would ever allow it. Especially now Elsa was gone, hiding in her ice castle. That would make Anna the new queen.  
The gates were opening. Kristoff set Anna on her feet and he opened his mouth. But before any words came out three servants came rushing out of the palace to greet them.

"ANNA! Oh you had us worried sick!" cried the taller of the two female servants.  
"My lady, you are freezing" The short, round male spoke putting an arm around the princess and ushering her forward.  
Whatever was said next was lost in a roaring sound in Kristoff's ears. He had to tell them, to make them understand!

"Get her warm, and find Prince Han's immediately!" he managed to keep his voice in control as he watched Anna being led away from him. The male servant turned back to him.  
"We will, thank you!" he said.  
The gates were closing, as Anna turned back to look at him once more.  _I should go with her. I have to protect her. They don't know what's happened to her in there. She might not be able to explain._

"Make sure she's safe!" Kristoff called, as the gates slammed shut in front of him. Too late.  
 _Coward._

_There's nothing you can do now. If you go storming in there, demanding to stay close to the princess, imagine how bad that's going to look? Hans would question it. She wouldn't get that kiss and it will be too late. She will perish if I stay._

Kristoff sighed and turned away from the castle, heading slowly back up the road, towards the forest. His mind was a raging battle.

_You're really walking away? You're actually going to leave her behind. This Hans is bad news and you know it. Why would he propose to a girl he just met; and a princess at that?_  
Stop it, you moron, you're just jealous he got there first. Besides, who wouldn't want to be with Anna? She's beautiful, funny, clever, kind, a little clumsy and absolutely fearless. She's the perfect woman. Hans probably saw all that too and knew she was the one.  
But he's a prince, he could have anyone. Why did it have to be her? What was I left with? I had a shot at happiness, at embracing someone else in my life, another human being at that! Sure, Sven's great, the best friend I've ever had, but he couldn't make me smile the way she could. He couldn't make me feel like I was floating ten feet off the ground.

Kristoff kept walking and walking, and with every step he felt a little more of the warmth Anna had made him feel over the last few days just ebb away. Soon he would be nothing more than the lone ice harvester again. Of course, he had to leave Arendelle. He couldn't stay here and watch her marry another man, or stay in the kingdom while they celebrated the birth of their children. He had to get as far from here as possible. He glanced at Sven who was lagging behind, his head bowed towards to ground and he was whining softly. Was the reindeer weeping? Is that even possible?  
The plan was forming in Kristoff's mind. He was already heading back to the Valley of the Living Rock. Boy, he was going to have to answer a lot of awkward questions, and probably getting a stern telling off from his adoptive family for being a coward. But when Sven was well rested, they would take off, far across the mountains, just the two of them and live in solitude, harvesting ice and eating carrots. The plan sounded thrilling.

What else could he do though? Barge in and steal her back? No, that wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

_Fair._  Kristoff snorted.  _None of this was fair. Fair would be Anna skipping through the woods, single and care free, her sister still sitting on her throne with no ice powers, and getting to bump into Anna innocently on a warm sunny day. But no, the queen had magical powers, she froze her own sister's heart, albeit by accident, and now Anna was doomed to become solid ice unless she kissed the man she met a matter of hours before she stumbled right into that trading post._

There was a thundering of hooves suddenly and Sven appeared in front of him, glaring into his eyes.

"What is it, buddy?" Kristoff asked, completely disheartened.  
Sven moved towards Kristoff, baring his antlers. This was not normal behaviour for the reindeer and it alarmed him.  
"Hey, watch it! What's wrong with you?"  
Sven snorted fiercely and brayed, nudging Kristoff backwards, back towards the town. Kristoff knew what he was getting at. But there was no way he was putting his neck on the line like that. Anna had made her choice.

"I don't understand you when you talk like that" he told the reindeer, avoiding the awkward discussion.  
Sven wasn't having any of it. He scooped Kristoff up in his antlers and began carrying him back down the hill. Kristoff fought against the animal, and he wasn't going to lie, the antlers hurt. But Sven got the message and dropped him on the floor.  
"No, Sven! We're not going back!" Kristoff shouted "She's with her true love!"

The reindeer stared into his face, raising his eyebrows. Kristoff wasn't stupid. He had heard the reluctance in her voice when he told her they had to get back to Hans. He had seen the nervous smiles and glances his way, because he'd been doing them too. If Hans really was her true love, she would not have been glancing back. He was torn between the fear of rejection and the fear of losing the girl he was completely crazy about. She would not get out of his head. Her laugh, her smile, her eyes, her lips, her hair, everything! He was in love and he knew it.

He turned back to look at the place his eyes had been avoiding. A huge wind blew suddenly and threatening snow clouds formed around the palace. Something was very, very wrong.

"Anna!" he gasped, making the decision and sprinting back down the hill. Sven caught up immediately and Kristoff jumped onto the reindeers back, galloping back towards Arendelle.

 


	2. Returning

Kristoff didn't realise how far he'd walked, he had been so lost in this thoughts. He was already halfway up the mountain.  
"This is going to take forever!" he growled "C'mon Sven!"  
The reindeer sped up slightly even though he was already pushing himself. That snowstorm around the castle could only mean one thing; Elsa was not up in that ice palace anymore.  
 _Why did I leave her behind? What was I thinking? What an idiot! This is a bad sign, I can't leave her again, even if I have to fight this prince for her, she's not safe here anymore!_  
The icy wind was perishing and caused great agony to the ice man and his reindeer, like thousands of tiny shards of glass hitting them in the face constantly. Kristoff wiped his gloved hand across his face, checking for blood, but it was fine. They tore down the hill at excessive speed, the cloud of blizzard looming ever closer.

Kristoff gritted his teeth and Sven ducked his head as they raced forward and hit the storm cloud. If Kristoff had thought the wind was bad before, it was nothing compared to in this cloud. It took all his effort to stop from shouting in pain as the ice hit them. The force of the storm pushed them back slightly but Sven, the most loyal companion anyone could have ever asked for, pushed on further. They were on the frozen fjord. Ships were tossed over on their sides, frozen solid, their contents strewn across the once great lake, covered in layers of snow and ice.

_Think of Anna. Just think of Anna. That face, those beautiful eyes, her fiery hair, her dazzling smile._

With a twang of pain in his chest, he realised the ice he was feeling on the outside must be what, right now, Anna was feeling on the inside. How she managed to stand up, let alone breathe was a mystery to him.

_I'll make it better, Anna; I'll make the pain go away._

There was a tremendous cracking sound beneath them. Kristoff looked down. The ice below was cracking and the dark, bottomless, icy water was becoming more visible.

"Come on!" He growled at Sven "COME ON!"

Sven swerved the cracks in the ice, but before they could breathe a sigh of relief, there was a groaning overhead. The ship on its side that they were hurtling past was moving towards them!

Sven hit his top speed, the fastest he had ever run as Kristoff ducked the falling debris. They were going to make it, they were almost there….

SMASH!

The ship shattered the ice around it, including the ice Sven was standing on. The reindeer skidded and bucked his hind legs, hurling Kristoff through the air. He hit the ice with a hard smack, the air knocked out of him and a throbbing in his head. There was no time to think about that as he heard the heart stopping splash behind him. He spun on his knees and turned to see nothing but icy water, Sven was gone.

"SVEN!" Kristoff cried, completely broken. His one and only companion had gone, taken by the ice that Kristoff loved so much. He couldn't move, paralysed by fear and grief, staring into the waters depths, an uncomfortable, warm sensation filling his eyes. Crying? He had never done that before.

Suddenly the water broke, and antlers broke the surface, followed by the entire reindeer, shivering and weakened, but still very much alive. Sven brayed, urging Kristoff on, as the animal heaved himself out of the water, onto a floating block of ice.

He needed a minute to compose himself, relief flooding him. He sighed deeply, some of the anxiety in his chest leaving him before muttering "Good boy!" and pulling himself to his feet.  
 _This is going to be so much harder on foot. I don't even know which the palace is now, or how to get in for that matter. What if I'm too late? What is Hans has already saved her? No, he can't have, look at this storm. The queen is angry. Very, very angry. But what if he has?_

Kristoff pushed onwards in the direction he hoped the palace was in.

_I will look such an idiot turning up there and begging her to rethink this whole thing, especially if he has given her true loves kiss. Grand Pabbie always said there wasn't much that was more powerful than a true loves kiss. Why would Anna turn her back on that for me?_

_Maybe I should turn back… NO! SHES NOT SAFE HERE! You've come this far, you can't go back now and spend the rest of your life wondering what if._

Kristoff stopped for a moment, looking around him. He could see nothing but white, feel nothing but the agonising wind, hear nothing but the howling storm, except… what was that?

He listened closer.

Someone was calling his name.

That voice. He had become so in tune with that voice over the last few days, surely it must be his imagination.

"Kristoff!" it called again, so far in the distance.

"Anna?" he whispered. It was her. She was out here somewhere in this hideous storm. "ANNA!" he shouted. He ran in the direction he heard her voice coming from.

_Why is she out here? She should be inside where it's safe and warm. Is she alone? Oh god, what if she's alone in this, and what if she's in trouble?!_

He sped up, as fast as he could go. Then suddenly it changed. The wind stopped, making Kristoff slip slightly on the ice, and the snow hung suspended in mid-air. The whole of Arendelle was truly frozen. Kristoff stopped for a second looking around, trying to get his bearings, now that he could see in front of him. There were two ships, one on either side of him and he was heading in the right direction for the palace.

His breath caught in his chest and his heart missed a beat as he saw what, or more appropriately who, was stood in front of the palace, still a long distance ahead of him.

Anna stood alone, shivering; all of her hair now white, and her skin was changing colour.

"Kristoff" she rasped in her weak, shaking whisper of a voice, carried across the frozen fjord.

"Anna" he said.

_Where is Hans? Why has he not saved her? Maybe he couldn't? Maybe I…_

He took off in a sprint, racing to close the distance between them. She tried to move too, but it was clearly an agonising effort for her.  _She must have minutes left,_  he thought. He pushed himself to his limits as she staggered a couple more steps, but she turned her head. Whatever she was looking at was blocked from Kristoff's view by the final ship he had to pass.

She turned back to look at him, there was about thirty metres left between them. Her hands were freezing; he could see the icy fingertips, and the ice slowly creeping onto her perfect face. She gazed at him, with an expression of longing on her face that only made him push himself more, causing him to slip slightly, but he kept going.

She turned away and began to move in the opposite direction.

_ANNA! NO! WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!_ He was too tired to shout.

She disappeared from view as he skidded around the corner of the ship and a horrifying scene became apparent, making him skid to a halt.

The queen was crumpled, broken, sobbing horrifically on the ice, her back to the scene of horror. A tall redheaded man had raised a sword to the queens back and was preparing to strike. He was formally dressed and, from the description Anna had given him hours before, Kristoff could only assume it to be one man; Hans.

"NO!" Anna cried, throwing herself in front of the sword. Hans brought it down anyway.

"ANNA!" Kristoff cried, as the sword hit her, but at that same moment there was a crunching sound, and the princess turned to ice. The power of the magic flung the prince backwards, his sword shattering into hundreds of pieces.

Anna was gone, a statue of ice now.

Grief hit Kristoff hard in the stomach and he struggled to stay on his feet. Again, he had lost another person in his life. Just like his parents before, ice had claimed another victim, this time in the form of the woman he loved.

He was broken. He hadn't realised before just how whole Anna had made him feel. She gave him purpose, strength and happiness. All of that was gone now, frozen alongside the princess's heart.

The queen turned her head and spied her sister.

"ANNA!" She gasped, rushing to her feet and touching Anna's frozen face.

"Oh, Anna, no, no, please no!" she cried.

Olaf, the happiest snowman on the earth appeared at Anna's side, looking up at her, a look of despair on his usually smiling face.

"Anna?" he asked sadly.

Elsa flung herself on her sister, clinging to her and sobbing uncontrollably.

Kristoff couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't think.

Sven nudged his side, comfortingly. At least he wasn't alone.

_Should I say something to the queen, comfort her? No, she must grieve. She needs this moment._

It was agonising to watch, and far too painful to keep his eyes on Anna, so Kristoff chose to stare at the floor instead.

_More ice, figures. I should find a new job. Ice causes nothing but pain to people._

Sven nudged him hard with his antlers, making Kristoff look up.

Anna's cloak was turning pink, the colour it was before, that could only mean…

_SHE'S THAWING!_

He watched, hoping and praying. Then she was there in front of him, holding her sister tightly in a thirteen year overdue hug.

"You sacrificed yourself for me?" Elsa asked.

"I love you" Anna told her.

"AN ACT OF TRUE LOVE WILL THAW A FROZEN HEART!" Olaf squealed, excitedly.

"Love will thaw" the queen repeated, deep in thought "Love…Of course!"

"Elsa?" Anna asked, curiously.

"LOVE!" Elsa said, beaming, throwing her arms in the air.

Warmth began spreading out around her and the stationary snow in the air began to float upwards! She was thawing Arendelle!

Luckily, they all appeared to be stood on the deck of a capsized ship, and that raised from the water as the fjord thawed around them all.

Suddenly it felt like summer again and it was much too hot for these winter clothes. The snow and ice fluttered upwards and disappeared in a flurry of magic above the queen. All was well again.

"I knew you could do it" Anna told her sister, putting a supportive hand on her arm.

"Hands down, this is the best day of my life" Olaf tells them all, beginning to melt "and quite possibly the last"

"Oh Olaf" Elsa chuckled "Hang on little guy!"

The queen reassembled Olaf with her magic and a small snow cloud formed about him, keeping him cool. He would last.

Kristoff noticed something out of the corner of his eye, stirring in the corner. Hans was getting to his feet after being knocked out against the ice.

_I'll kill him_. _Prince charming won't be looking so pretty when I'm done with him!_

Anna threw her arm out in front of Kristoff catching him in his looked at her and she gave him her 'I can handle this' glance he had gotten so used to over the last few days events.

She marched forwards towards Hans who looked shocked so see her standing there.

"Anna?" he asked "but she froze your heart!"

"The only frozen heart around here is yours" she said turning away from him.  _That was it? That was all Princess Feisty-Pants was going to give him? She had thrown a snowball at an ice monster in a fit of rage for less than what he had done._

Suddenly the princess turned back and swung, punching him square in the face. Kristoff snorted at the prince stumbled backward, clutching his face and fell overboard with an almighty splash.

_That's my girl._

Was she his girl? He didn't even know how she felt. She was swept into another embrace from Elsa but she looked at him and smiled contentedly. He couldn't help but grin back. Either way, she was alive and happy and that was the most important thing to him now.

 


	3. Epilogue

_I am running through the town, blindfolded, being led by the clumsiest person I have ever met. There can be no good come from this._

"Come on, come on, come on, come on!" The super impatient princess told him, dragging him quicker.

_I was right_ , he thought as his face collided with something cold and solid, echoing with a clang.

"Pole" he grunted, trying to hide how much it actually hurt from Anna.

"Oops, sorry!" she told him, before dragging him along again.

He didn't mind. He couldn't see a thing, but he could certainly feel her tiny, delicate hands clutching his. The more time he spent with her, the more in love he fell. She was perfect, and now she wasn't in any mortal danger, except for her exaggerated clumsiness, he could relax a little more around her.

The last few days had been wonderful. Elsa had formally apologised to everyone and explained her entire story, to Anna, himself, the staff and the town. Elsa was so grateful to Kristoff for keeping Anna safe in the mountains and back in Arendelle, that she had invited him to stay in the palace with them while the festivities were taking place, to celebrate what the town was calling "the great thaw". Anna had accepted on his behalf before he could say another word, and, honestly, he had enjoyed it immensely.

This morning, Anna had told him she had a big surprise for him and so, after breakfast, she had dragged him into the courtyard, blindfolded him, and led him out into the crowded streets.

Suddenly they came to a halt, the dull ache in Kristoff's cheek subsiding.

"Okay, Okay, here we are!" Anna said.

The blindfold was suddenly removed and Kristoff's eyes took a minute to adjust.

They were stood in the market, next to the fjord and Kristoff found himself staring at the most beautiful sled he had ever seen. It had to be top of the range, and incredibly expensive.

"I owe you a sled" Anna said, beaming at him.

"Are you SERIOUS?" He asked. The sled was flawless. Sven stood by its side, looking extremely dashing for a reindeer, wearing a medal around his neck, a gift from the queen.

"Yes!" Anna squealed, unable to contain her excitement "and it's the latest model!"

_This is far too much!_

"No, I can't accept this!" Kristoff told her.

"You have to!" she demanded "No returns, no exchanges! Queen's orders! She's named you the official Arendelle ice master and deliverer!"

_I have never heard of that before, and I know everything there is to know about Arendelle's ice supply._

"What? That's not a thing"

"Oh, sure it is!" She said "and it even has a cup holder!" Anna pointed to the sled again "do you like it?"

It was his, it was really his sled! Everything was perfect! Well almost everything…

"Like it?" he asked "I LOVE IT!" he scooped her up and spun her round, high above him.

"I could kiss you!" he cried, caught up in the moment.

He put her down abruptly, embarrassed by his sudden outburst of emotion. She was looking at him, wide eyed, a hint of a smile playing around her lips when she suddenly looked down, shyly.  _Anna? Shy? Something wasn't right. Well I have put my foot in it now; I may as well go for it._

"I could" he said "I mean I'd like to. May I? We me? I mean, may we?"

_What the hell am I doing?_

"Wait, what?" he finished, utterly humiliated by how much he had messed that up.

Then he felt a soft brush against his cheek. She had leant up and kissed him, where he'd hit the pole.

"We may" she said, grinning at him.

It was all or nothing.

Kristoff swept the princess into his arms, pressing his lips against hers. She clutched at him too, sighing contentedly as she sunk into the kiss.

Kristoff was euphoric, now everything was finally perfect.

 


End file.
